Shivaji Rao Gaikwad, known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor who works mainly in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 170 filmsthat includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, and Malayalam. He is widely regarded to be one of the most successful and popular actors in the history of Indian cinema. Known for his uniquely styled lines and idiosyncrasies in films, he has a huge fan base internationally and has a cult following. The Government of India honoured him with Padma Bhushan in 2000, Padma Vibhushan in 2016, India's third and second highest civilian honours, and highest award in the field of cinema Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2019 for his contributions to Indian cinema.
Sampath Kumar, known by his stage name Vishnuvardhan, was an Indian actor who worked predominantly in Kannada cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam language films. Vishnuvardhan has a prolific career spanning over four decades, during which he has acted in more than 220 films. A popular cultural icon of Karnataka, and holds the status of a matinée idol amongst the Kannada diaspora. He is popularly called as Sahasa Simha, Dada and The Angry Young Man of Kannada Cinema. Vishnuvardhan's contributions to Kannada cinema have been praised by his contemporaries in the Indian film industry. The Government of Karnataka honoured him with the Rajyothsava Prashasthi in 1990 and the Dr. Rajkumar Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 for his contributions to Kannada cinema. He was called The Phoenix of Indian Cinema. In 2008, a poll conducted by CNN-IBN listed Vishnuvardhan as the most popular star in the Kannada film industry.
Apthamitra is a 2004 Indian Kannada-language horror film directed by P. Vasu and produced by Dwarakish. It stars Vishnuvardhan, Soundarya and Ramesh Arvind in the lead roles, while Prema, Dwarakish and Avinash appear in supporting roles. The film is a remake of Malayalam film Manichithrathazhu with some plot changes. The film was released on 27 August 2004 on Varalakshmi festival to positive reviews.
Apoorva Raagangal is a 1975 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by K. Balachander. It stars Kamal Haasan, Sundarrajan, Srividya and Jayasudha, while Nagesh and Rajinikanth, in his feature film debut, play supporting roles. The film revolves around Prasanna (Haasan) who falls in love with the much older Bhairavi (Srividya) while Bhairavi's daughter Ranjani (Jayasudha) is drawn to Prasanna's father Mahendran (Sundarrajan).
Sahodarara Savaal is a 1977 Indian Kannada-language film directed by K. S. R. Das. It stars Vishnuvardhan and Rajinikanth. It was one of the few films that Rajinikanth acted in Kannada. The film was remade in Telugu as Annadammula Savaal (1978). It was released on 16 September 1977.
Kai Kodukkum Kai is a 1984 Indian Tamil-language film written and directed by Mahendran, starring Rajinikanth and Revathi. It is an extended version of Munithayi written by Eeswarachandra – the third segment of the 1976 Kannada anthology film Katha Sangama. Rajnikanth, who played the antagonist in Munithayi, played the lead role in this film. The film was produced by Vijayakumar and R. Vijayachandran. It was released on 15 June 1984.
Kalyanaraman is a 1979 Indian Tamil-language supernatural comedy film directed by G. N. Rangarajan and written by Panchu Arunachalam. The film stars Kamal Haasan and Sridevi, while V. K. Ramasamy, Major Sundarrajan, Thengai Srinivasan, V. S. Raghavan, Senthamarai, Pushpalatha, Manorama and Master Japan Kuppu play supporting roles. It revolves around Kalyanam, a tea estate owner's son who is duped and murdered by a gang trying to seize the property. Kalyanam lives on as a ghost, his twin brother Raman learns the truth and returns for revenge.
Bharathi Vishnuvardhan, also known mononymously as Bharathi, is an Indian actress known primarily for her work in Kannada cinema and television serials. She began her career in 1966, as a lead actress, with the Kannada movie Love in Bangalore though Dudde Doddappa was her first release. In a career spanning over 50 years, Bharathi has appeared in 150 films. Apart from 100 films in Kannada, she has also acted in a handful of Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. Through the course of her career, she became known for her portrayal of roles of mythological and historical characters, and also that of a student, a romantic and a rural belle. Her role in Sri Krishnadevaraya (1970) as Chennambike won her the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress. In 2017, she was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India. She has the distinction of having paired with Dr.Rajkumar as a lead actress in all the 26 movies she acted with him and is also paired with him the most no. of times in those movies where he played multiple roles.
Jayashree, known by her screen name Sudha Rani, is an Indian actress, voice artist and former model. She has primarily worked in Kannada films in addition to a few Telugu, Tulu and Malayalam films. As on Feb 2024, she has acted in about 150 films across industries.
Poovilangu is a 1984 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Ameerjan, starring Murali and Kuyili, the latter in her acting debut. It was released on 23 March 1984. The film is a remake of the Kannada film Prema Parva (1983).
Anuraga Aralithu is a 1986 Indian Kannada-language film directed by M. S. Rajashekar. It is based on the Kannada novel Anuragada Anthahpura written by H. G. Radhadevi. The film was produced by M. S. Puttaswamy. The film stars Rajkumar, Madhavi and Geetha. The film's score and soundtrack was composed by Upendra Kumar to the lyrics of Chi. Udayashankar who also wrote the screenplay.
Udaya Chandrika was an Indian actress of Kannada cinema from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. She also appeared in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu-language films.
Deva is a 1989 Indian Kannada-language romantic action film, starring Vishnuvardhan and Rupini. The film was directed by Vijay and written by M. D. Sundar.
Kittu Puttu is a 1977 Indian Kannada-language comedy drama film directed by C. V. Rajendran and produced by Dwarakish. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Dwarakish, Manjula, K. Vijaya and Vaishali Kasaravalli. The film was widely appreciated for its songs and story upon release. The songs tuned by Rajan–Nagendra were huge hits.
Kotigobba is a 2001 Indian Kannada-language action film starring Vishnuvardhan, Priyanka Upendra and Ashish Vidyarthi. The film was a remake of Rajinikanth's 1995 Tamil film Baashha which itself was inspired from the 1991 Hindi movie Hum. This movie was directed by Naganna and features soundtrack from Deva who also composed the music for the Tamil version. Vishnuvardhan was nominated for Filmfare Best Actor category.
Hasiru Thorana is a 1970 Indian Kannada language drama film directed by T. V. Singh Thakur and written by Sundaramma. It stars Rajkumar, Udaykumar and Bharathi Vishnuvardhan. The film was released under Sri Indira Movies banner and produced by Y. Anantharama Rao. The film, featuring the soundtrack composed by Upendra Kumar was received well upon release.
Emme Thammanna is a 1966 Indian Kannada-language film produced and directed by B. R. Panthulu. It stars Rajkumar, Dikki Madhava Rao, Bharathi Vishnuvardhan. The supporting cast features Narasimharaju, Subbanna, Krishna Shastry, B. R. Panthulu, Papamma, Jaya and M. V. Rajamma. The film was remade in Telugu as Govula Gopanna (1968), in Hindi as Jigri Dost (1969) and in Tamil as Mattukara Velan (1970). This was the first social drama movie of Rajkumar where he played dual roles in a full-fledged manner excluding Malli Maduve where his second character appears only for three seconds. The core plot was loosely based on a Marathi play.
Karna is a 1986 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by H. R. Bhargava and produced by B. Anuradha Singh, R. Dushyanth Singh and R. Amritha Singh. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Sumalatha, K. S. Ashwath and Sumithra. The film has musical score by M. Ranga Rao. The film was a remake of the 1981 Bengali film Saaheb which was earlier remade in Hindi as Saaheb.
Ellaranthalla Nanna Ganda is a 1997 Indian Kannada film, directed by S. Umesh and produced by K. Prabhakar. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Prema, Umashree and Tara in the lead roles. The film has musical score by Upendra Kumar.
Durga Prabha, known by her stage name, Hema Chaudhary is an Indian actress who has predominantly acted in Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil films. Starting her career as a lead actress in the Telugu film Pelli Kani Pelli in 1976, she switched over to supporting roles in the 1980s.
